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We got back from downstate last night after a wonderful holiday with family, and had to drag ourselves out to the Farmer’s Market this morning. Bed seemed warm and comfy and so much better than eating good food later on this week. But get up we did, and made our way there, just to find out that half the vendors were missing this holiday week! Boo.

We were honestly stumped as to what veggies we would have for the week. We still have plenty of ham and split pea soup left that we didn’t need to buy any more meat, but veggies were a necessity and Barber farm wasn’t there.

Kind of funny that we’re now so mentally invested in this market that it honestly didn’t occur to us that we could go to the supermarket until we were leaving the farmer’s market. Supermarket shopping just isn’t on our radar much anymore. Especially not for produce, when it tastes so much less fresh and ripe than locally grown items.

So, turnips. We turned to these in desperation since the brussels sprouts offered by the other vendors there looked poor. But I’ve never eaten them before, except Friday at my MIL’s house, when she made a delicious carrot, potato and turnip side dish. Any suggestions for how to eat them?

We got notice this week that due to the popularity of our winter market (which, if you’ll remember, is only in it’s second winter) many of the farmers installed high tunnels in their fields this season. High tunnels, also known as hoophouses, are basically unheated greenhouses, made of PVC and plastic sheeting. With high tunnels, the farmers can extend the growing season and grow fresh produce almost all year round. This means we won’t be eating root veggies all winter anymore, whee! Except for, er…this week. Can you guys come back now?

Thanks for the great post. We had pretty good vendor attendance for the two days after Christmas. After all, the producers have familys and like to enjoy the Holidays, too.

Bottom line is what makes our market great is you – members of what we call the Loyalists. You see, customer attendance varies by a factor of almost 10, particularly when we are outdoors. But vendor revenue swings much less, by a factor of only two or three. That’s because the Loyalists drag themselves down even on crummy days to buy every week. Steady revenue is what the producers need, so they can make the hoophouse investments. See? (And Thanks!)